My Dremel died, looking for a replacement

Hengelo_77

Hengelo_77

Basic Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2006
Messages
6,319
My Dremel died on me and I am looking to replace it.
I have a flexible shaft for it and have it hanging on a curtainrail on the ceiling, a bit like a jeweler has a rotery tool. (see pic below)

I had a 395, equivalent to todays 3000 series, with a 125W engine.
But there are also the 4000 and 4200 with 175W engines.

Are they worth the extra money?

I've also been looking at real hanging rotery machines.

They are available (new) for app. the price of a Dremel 4000/4200
Should I go for one of them?

Pro:
-I use my dremel like one of them
-You buy just the machine, doesn't come with extra's you pay for but don't need
Against:
-RPM goes up to only 22.000 dremel goes up to 35.000. But do I need the extra RPM?
-Just don't know the machines, feels a bit like a risk.

So should I play save and get what is known, or should I upgrade?
Upgrade to a better dremel or a "real" rotery machine?

(dremel on the right on the rail)
P1011719.JPG
 
If you use it a lot I'd upgrade to a variable speed end grinder (die grinder).
 
Grizzly and harbor freight sell the same flex shaft grinder for a good price. Comes with the foot petal so you can control the speed. It's pretty darn noisy and has its peculiarities, but it does work well for the price. I don't use it all too often, so I can't attest to hard use durability but it's definitely worth considering. If I consistently used a machine I would be looking at a foredom. They are at the top of their class, but you will pay a price for it.

Justin
 
This subject has been discussed several times in the past. Most all who use them recommend a flex shaft unit.

A proper flex shaft will last many times longer and do far more work than a jury rigged Dremel and a flex shaft adapter. They are in the $200-300 range complete with foot or bench control ( some people use both together).

Get the biggest and most powerful flex shaft you can afford. I highly recommend the Foredom 1/3HP TX series. There are other brands and types ranging from 1/6Hp to 1/4HP, but the TX is a workhorse. It has the power and torque that is best for our type of work. Speed varies between flex shaft types, but unless you are doing fancy carving, the top end isn't needed for most metal working. The 15K RPM to 22K RPM of most flexshaft units is more than sufficient.

Another plus is you can get handpieces to do specific tasks for a flexshaft. They have handpieces that run faster than the motor, are hammer tools for stippling, are made for checkering, are very thin for fine detail work, etc.
 
Stacy is spot on. I was fortunate enough to get a Foredom at a garage sale. Blows my old Dremel (30+ years old, one speed... 30K, rpm) away. Having the flex shaft, speed control and lower rpms made a big difference.

If you can get a Foredom, do so.

Ric
 
My Grobet flex shaft has served me well for about 5 years of occasional use, it is low budget and can use Foredom handpieces.
 
I have a dremel 4200. Been through 3 of them in 2 years. At least they replace them when they fail and they stand behind their products. The third one seems to work well but they seem to have lots of issues with the 4200 that the other models don't have..
 
Even the -$100 Chinese flexible shaft machines work better than the Dremel thing, and last a lot longer. Most come with a foot rheostat and a jacobs chuck handpiece.
The fact that a Dremel turns a gazillion RPM is irrelevent. I don't think I have ever used one at full speed.
 
I have had the harbor freight flex shaft for a couple weeks now. i think it was $40 with a coupon. Its pretty surprising how well its served me. I know it will die eventually like all tools do, for the money I cant beat it.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
This subject has been discussed several times in the past. Most all who use them recommend a flex shaft unit.

A proper flex shaft will last many times longer and do far more work than a jury rigged Dremel and a flex shaft adapter. They are in the $200-300 range complete with foot or bench control ( some people use both together).

Get the biggest and most powerful flex shaft you can afford. I highly recommend the Foredom 1/3HP TX series. There are other brands and types ranging from 1/6Hp to 1/4HP, but the TX is a workhorse. It has the power and torque that is best for our type of work. Speed varies between flex shaft types, but unless you are doing fancy carving, the top end isn't needed for most metal working. The 15K RPM to 22K RPM of most flexshaft units is more than sufficient.

Another plus is you can get handpieces to do specific tasks for a flexshaft. They have handpieces that run faster than the motor, are hammer tools for stippling, are made for checkering, are very thin for fine detail work, etc.
Click to expand...

What Stacy said. Only cry once! Buy a quality Foredom machine and be done with it.
 
Foredoms are wonderful. I have 3 or 4 of them. I also have a couple of the Chinese copies that have held up well for 10+ years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top